We just heard that Citi would be removing the AAdvantage Admirals Club access from the perks that come with the very expensive Citi Prestige card. While this was a huge blow to the credit card, the negative changes aren't going to stop there and may really be worth you re-evaluating the worth of the card.

Citi's Prestige card is their high end credit card and comes with a very high price tag. In order to justify such a high price tag, the card really needs to include a bunch of good perks to make it worth while. The Prestige card had those perks in place, but Citi now thinks that it had too many perks and is starting to remove perks... many perks. Problem is, they are coming dangerously close to not making the card worth keeping in your wallet.

So what is being removed from the card? First off, the sign on bonus will be dropping by 10,000 points. In a world of constantly shifting sign on bonuses, I'd say this isn't a big deal. Also, the bonus of 3 free rounds of golf a year is going away too, once again a little used perk for most people, but a big deal if you make use of this.

The other 2 features are big ones. First off is the admirals club access, I went into more depth on this one a few days ago, go check out my article "Citi Reducing Benefits on the Prestige Card" if you want my thoughts on that move as a stand alone. The last feature is a big one in my opinion, the amount of money each point you use on American Airlines purchases is worth will be dropping.

Citi ThankYou rewards points can be redeemed for airfare one American Airlines and other airlines for that matter. These points are worth 1.33 cents per point through the Citi travel portal. If you had the Prestige card before these changes though, each point bumped up to 1.6 cents per point on American Airlines flights. This perk is going away now and that significantly reduces the worth of this card.

Is it still worth keeping the Prestige card though?

I'd still have to say yes with one stipulation. Now more than ever the 4th night free benefit on this card becomes essential. You have to make use of this feature to make this card worthwhile, otherwise the card's benefits don't really justify the expense anymore. The $250 per year airfare credit is nice but at $450 just to own the card, there needs to be more reason than just the airfare credit to keep this card. If you can make use of the 4th night free at hotels, then you quickly make this card worth while, otherwise I would skip this one going forward.

It is worth noting here that if you are an existing customer of this card, these changes aren't coming for another year, next July. So you can still use all of these benefits before the changes kick in next year.